The reality here is that Bill Cook is interested in the people and area he is building in. Sure he will make money but it's a perfect example of aBloomington/Indianapolis vision and the reality is that Bill wants to make a positive impact on the whole area down there and is in it for the long haul. Bob (and no offensive to him) and his company see things as pretty much just an investment and the bottom line is the bottom line.

Umm, this was a business venture. It turned into the Cookie Monster's pet project. If the Cookie Monster wanted to run it like a pet project why did he go halvsies with Lauth? Lauth was used and abused.

Now everybody feel warm and fuzzy for Orange County at Lauth's expense.

All I know is that in my personal dealings with Bob Lauth he is a thoughtful, fair and kind man with a wonderful family. This deal went bust, let the chips fall where they may - live & learn - and get on to the next golden opportunity.

Leaving the business wranglings aside, and looking at the end product: My wife and I just had a two-night stay at the French Lick Springs resort. I must say that the room renovations were very nice, however many other "improvements" were less than impressive.

The swimming pools were moved from one side of the hotel to the other in favor of gardens that are still under construction, but location is not the problem. The outdoor swimming pool is HIGHLY inadequate in size. The size is roughly what you might expect in a tract housing project in Fishers. In fact I have seen bigger residential pools. These analogies are not out of line with how small this pool is; it was embarrasing.

Exacerbating this problem was the lack of chairs and chase lounges for the huge deck. Finally, for the nearly 100 or so folks jamming the deck area, they had one (1) person trying to provide wait service.

I would have at least expected a larger pool for a 'resort' that wants to draw clientel nationally. I guess the owner just thinks with the casino now (the boat in the moat) the clientel is strictly the gamblers who will not use the other facilities.

It's really too bad: French Lick Springs has made a 75-yard drive down the field, and now they're going to kick a field goal rather than go the extra 25 yards for a touchdown.

I wish them luck but I just don't think that this project is going to make the money that they think it is. It's so much easier to get to Argosy. I-69 would probably help but how many years away is that? I know they are trying to be much more than a casino but it's going to be a really tough go at it.

i personaly as an employee of the resort am glad to see Lauth out of the pictre. he cared nothing for the workers or the guest that where visiting the resort, he only cared to line his pocket book. because of Lauth and the management team he hired, many people lost there jobs at the resort because they felt it was over staffed and now many guest were not getting the attention that they payed for and diserved.

Tell me when this thread is updated:

Add your comments below

Please note by submitting this form you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Service and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Be polite.
Inappropriate posts may be removed by the moderator. Send us your feedback.